The present invention relates to power supplies and motors for electrically powered vehicles, and more particularly, to a swing arm mount which pivotally supports an electric power supply and an electric drive motor on the vehicle frame.
Swing arm mounts have been previously employed to mount both the gasoline motors and the drive wheels of motorcycles to enable the motor to move relative to the frame of the cycle. While one end of the mount is pivotally mounted to the frame of the cycle, the other end of the mount is coupled to the frame through shock absorbers in order to minimize the shock transmitted to both the cycle and the operator when the drive wheel hits a bump. In addition, mounting both the motor and the drive wheel on the swing arm enables the motor to maintain the same operative orientation relative to the drive wheel irrespective of the movement of the drive wheel relative to the frame.
Exemplary of such a mounting assembly for mounting an electric motor is Hannigan U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,291.
Although the Hannigan swing arm mount offers the advantages of mounting the motor on the swing arm, it does not support the electric power supply. In Hannigan, the electric power supply is mounted directly on the cycle frame and motion of the motor relative to the power supply must be accommodated.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel swing arm mount which pivotally mounts both an electric power supply and an electric motor on the frame of an electric cycle, and allows the electric power supply, motor, and rear wheel to move in unison relative to the cycle frame.
It is also an object to provide such a swing arm mount in which access to the motor and power assembly is facilitated.
Another object is to provide a modular electronic drive assembly and motor mount which is readily adapted for assembly onto electric cycles of various manufacturers.
Yet another object is to provide a swing arm mount which is rugged and long lived, and which may be fabricated relatively easily and economically.